It stormed the other night, and the next day the old guy did what he usually does. Once all the thunder, rain and lightning are gone, he walks around and surveys the property to see if any old tree branches lost their way or if there was anything else astray. Underneath one tree branch was an upside down bird’s nest. Insider’s worst fears were confirmed. These little guys never stood a chance. They probably only needed another week or so before they would have been ready to take on the world. It was a sad sight, but nothing compared to what that mama bird went through that night. Surely, she was in the nest protecting her babies from the rain and keeping them warm when the branch gave way. She could save herself because she could fly but was powerless to protect her babies who had not yet learned. Wherever she is these days, the old guy’s thoughts are with her.
Kids across this country don’t sit on curbs anymore. Curbs used to be the gathering places for every kid in the neighborhood. It’s where they planned their day, games they would play, people they would visit, and in general, kid gossip. It was at the curbside that Insider heard what a great movie “Gunga Din” was. In fact, the entire movie was retold by the lucky kid who had already seen that picture. It was sitting on a curb that a kid crowd discussed the merits of a new soft drink called “Dr. Pepper” and proclaimed it a non-entry by a vote of 5-2. Insider was one of the two plus votes and still drinks the stuff to this day. Today’s kids are getting high on overdoses of Mountain Dew. It was by the same curb that a “Liberty Magazine” salesman showed the young guy and his friends all kinds of baseball bats, gloves, footballs, baseballs and Red Ryder lunch pails, which could be theres just for selling subscriptions to Liberty. Hey, here was a project for the next two days at least so the kids turned to with gusto, only to find out nobody was interested in subscribing to the magazine.
You don’t see too many kids around the neighborhoods today. Even if they are outside, they are not sitting on the curb, marveling over the wonders of concrete and pavement. They’re around but they are all inside. Isolated in front of a computer or television.
Insider keeps forgetting to take his memory loss pill. He needs a pill to remind him.